Malik
(9/30/11)
Yesterday I was set to
post something, but time escaped me. Long story short, I decided to
get Bastion on Wednesday. A friend of mine was saying that it was an
awesome game, and the videos I've seen looked sweet...put those
facts together, and I have my next game to play until Skyrim comes
along.
I went with the PC
(Steam) version, since it would leave my TV free for Velveta to
watch Netflix on the 360 while I played my game. Everybody
wins...right? Wrong. Once again, I'm playing a game built on the XNA
architecture (the system used to make games that can easily go from
XBox Live Arcade to PC) on my PC. This means that my controller will
not work. Why? Because I'm using a Logitech PS3 controller on my PC.
It runs off a USB wireless dongle and thus it works beautifully on
the PC without much hassle. Or it would if not for damned XNA games
that only recognize 360 controllers as PC controllers. Actually,
according to the assistant manager at the one Gamestop I do enjoy
going to (one has some really fun to chat with employees...as
opposed to the usual drones who just work there to make money, this
store has people who love to talk games), the third party wired 360
controllers are not even recognized. Only official Microsoft made
360 controllers will work on XNA PC titles. Is this true? I don't
know for sure, but I'd trust a Gamestop person who actually failed
to make a sale due to telling me this tid-bit.
So, Gamestop no
longer sells wired Microsoft made 360 controllers. They also don't
sell the Microsoft wireless USB hook-up device to run a wireless 360
controller on a PC. Since I've always gone wireless on the 360, this
left me in a bind. So, out of desperation, I looked online.
Supposedly there
are a few emulators to make a XNA game thing your non-360 controller
is a real 360 Microsoft made controller. I say supposedly since I
sure couldn't find them. I found one that will work for official
Sony PS3 controllers, but it doesn't like my Logitech one. I also
found an emulator that was supposed to be great, but the website for
it was down and I couldn't get it until the site returned (if it's
even still operational). Once again, desperation was on me. The
Gamestop dude said I could find a pre-owned 360 wired controller at
a few Gamestop locations near my home (the dude works at one close
to my work, but far from home, and they don't have any wired
pre-owned controllers anyway). However, buying pre-owned on analogue
controllers has burned me before. It's easy for an analogue stick to
be abused, and I'd rather have more trust in hand by buying new.
This left either Best Buy (recommended by the Gamestop dude; "I
didn't think they were even made anymore, but I guess Microsoft just
likes to sell them to Best Buy and wants to piss off Gamestop
customers."), going online (Amazon), or playing Bastion with the
keyboard and mouse.
Well, online
purchase was out of the question. I wanted to play Bastion, and time
wouldn't wait for something to ship to me and arrive sometime after
the weekend.
Keyboard and mouse
was an option when I downloaded Bastion. Once I played some on
Wednesday, I saw otherwise. It is hard as hell to play that game
without a controller. I had too many deaths just because of how
cumbersome the controls were, and by how you walk constantly in a
diagonal (W = fall off cliff, while W+D = survive) direction.
I lowered my
standards and hit Best Buy. Yes, they do indeed have fresh Microsoft
made 360 wired controllers. They have a ton of the damned things.
They also charge $10 more than I found them on Amazon...damned need
for instant gratification pushed me into the purchase. I wanted to
play, and $10 would have to be sacrificed.
Well, after
getting the controller plugged in, I was quickly playing Bastion as
it was meant to be played; with a controller. It's a damned bit
easier and more enjoyable when you can control a game how it was
designed to be played. I am now fully loving Bastion.
What I don't love
is this bullshit about XNA derived games requiring a Microsoft made
360 controller. The only difference between a 360 controller and a
PS3 controller is...nothing. Both have four shoulder buttons, two
analogue sticks, four standard face buttons, a D-pad, start and
select, and a home/guide button. Same exact controller for all real
purposes. Both have rumble (if you so chose). Both have analogue on
the correct buttons. If anything, the PS3 controller is a bit more
technical and advanced by having sixaxis, which would make it more
likely to be accepted then denied versus the required controller.
So, in a nutshell; what the hell? The only part that could make this
worse is if finding a wired 360 Microsoft made controller was a
difficult chore...oh...wait...it is since they don't ship them to
Gamestop anymore.
So, the final
score on this? Gamestop near my work gets an A for having some
damned good employees who care more about doing the right thing than
forcing a sale. Bastion gets an A for being a great fun game.
Bastion without a controller gets a D for being frustrating.
Microsoft and the XNA system when used on the PC both get a big
F...as in "go f#@$ yourself!"
Now that I have a
360 controller on my PC, I can stop complaining about this. However,
it doesn't mean I can forgive and forget. I will do neither. If my
wired 360 controller breaks, it will only lead to some damned pissed
off words. At least I can now enjoy some other Steam downloaded
games that gave me this same problem before. I forget which ones
they were off hand, but I'm constantly downloading new Steam titles
and playing old ones thanks to crazy Steam sales. I'm sure the day
will soon come when I'll come across another game I had to abandon
in the past due to XNA games rarely being fun with keyboard and
mouse.
On a final subject
change, I have a prediction. I would say the Seahawks will lose, but
that's not a prediction. It's stating the obvious. I predict Mike
Williams will be open and T-Jack will fail to see him...despite Mike
Williams having the very suitable nickname of BMW (Big Mike
Williams). I also predict that no pass will go more than 5 yards up
field in the air from T-Jack. I also see 90% of Seahawks first downs
being a running play. I also predict more false starts on Seattle
than Atlanta, despite the game being in Seattle where the 12th Man
has been a source in the past of opposition false starts and not
Seahawk false starts. In other words, I see Seattle trying to stay
alive in the Suck For Luck sweepstakes...but the Colts, Dolphins,
Rams, and especially the Chiefs are more likely to win that special
version of the game.
Malik |